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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27054037">Flowers In Your Hair</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/unburnttkhaleesi/pseuds/unburnttkhaleesi'>unburnttkhaleesi</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Haunting of Bly Manor (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Childhood Friends AU, F/F, a bit of the times homophobia, and as someone who grew up in the closet during this time, it takes place mid nineties and early 2000s, yes its a thing</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 20:28:03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,960</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27054037</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/unburnttkhaleesi/pseuds/unburnttkhaleesi</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
      <p>My brain says write something fluffy<br/>My heart says, make it a childhood friends au<br/>So I do, and I cry a little because all the feels.</p>
    </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Dani Clayton/Jamie</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>390</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Flowers In Your Hair</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>My brain says write something fluffy<br/>My heart says, make it a childhood friends au<br/>So I do, and I cry a little because all the feels.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The year was 1996 and Jamie was terribly angry with her parents, they had to be the most selfish people on the whole planet. You see, Jamie Greene was a smart girl- wise beyond her mere six years. She had to be, didn’t have a choice in the fact really. Her parents were children who had children and because her parents still thought themselves to be children, they ran from their problems. As in pack up all your things without warning and move to a whole other country. Her father was thrilled because:</p><p>‘You see, puppet, America is the land for dreamers.’ He tells her as they set up their little apartment in Philadelphia. ‘Your mother and I will get new jobs and you’ll make friends; we’ll all be happy here.’</p><p>Jamie didn’t have a clue what her parents were running from even though she wanted to know and their happiness? Yes, that lasts about a month until her mother gives birth to her baby brother and then skips town with some random man she met in Atlantic City. Her dear mother, always the child, never the adult. So, in a month of their American dream, their father works two jobs and Jamie is left alone with her brothers.</p><p>However, once summer ends, school becomes an issue. Their neighbor, a sweet elderly later happily agrees to watch. Mikey is a good baby and Mrs. Stevens is nice, so she knows it won’t be a problem. Mrs. Stevens does pity them after all, calling them poor things. Jamie does struggle to get Denny and Mikey up and ready. She knows how to make eggs and toast and a bottle for the baby and Mrs. Stevens comes over with her knitting so she can take care of Mikey properly. Jamie kisses the top of Mikey’s downy curls and quickly trails off behind her brother to school.</p><p>Of course, Denny doesn’t stay around her for too long once they reach the big building. He did manage to meet some kids during the summer to hang around with while she took care of Mikey best she could. So, she feels a bit lonely as she takes a seat on the steps outside, waiting for the bell to ring. She didn’t have many friends back home either, so loneliness doesn’t really bother her.</p><p>However, her moment of solitude is ruined when a little girl, dressed in a pastel pink dress and clean, white mary janes sits next to her. Her blonde hair is braided neatly in two braids with ribbons on the end and next to her is a brand new, beauty and the beast lunch box to match her beauty and the beast backpack. She is a stark contrast to Jamie who wears her brother’s hand-me-down jeans with patched up knees and a tie-dyed teeshirt she made back home. Jaime realizes that this girl, whoever she is, must have a mother that dressed her up like a porcelain doll. She looks like one, large blue eyes, pale skin and pink cheeks. “Hi,” The girl smiles as she smooths out her dress. “I like your shirt.”</p><p>Jamie finds that hard to believe and laughs. “No, you don’t.” She shoots back</p><p>The girl seems shocked at Jamie’s tone, better off that way anyway. Maybe she’d leave her alone. Though that does not seem to work because the blonde just shrugs. “No, really- I like it, it’s really pretty and has all the colors in the rainbow on it.” She plays with the end of one of her long braids before shooting out her hand. “I’m Dani Clayton by the way, it’s nice to meet you.”</p><p>There is something wrong with girl, there must be. No one is this cheery, ever. “Jamie Greene.”</p><p>They shake hands and Dani smiles. “Well, I like your voice, Jamie Greene.”</p><p>“You mean my accent?” Jamie asks and Dani nods. “Um thank you, I think.” She looks down at her scuffed shoes. “What grade are you in?”</p><p>“First!” Dani chirps and shows her a tag on her school bag. “I am in Miss. Daniels first grade class, what about you?”</p><p>Mrs. Stevens was nice enough the night before to write down what classroom Jamie had belonged too and strangely enough; she was in the same class as Dani. “Yeah, she’s my teacher too.”</p><p>Dani’s eyes light up and she stands up quickly. “Oh, we are in the same class! That is so exciting, and that way, we’ll get to be fast friends!” The shrill ringing of the bell grabs their attention and Dani grabs one of Jamie’s hands to pull her to her feet. “Come on, I hope we are sitting next to each other and if we aren’t, that’s okay because we can still sit next to each other in the cafeteria.”</p><p>Jamie lets this strange blonde-haired girl drag her to class because what else would she do and maybe it would be nice to have a friend.</p><p>Dani is sweet, really sweet. She always sits with her at lunch and offers her some of her food to share, she’s a bundle of energy, but also painfully shy. For a while, Jamie is her only friend and that’s okay. Jamie really likes Mr. Clayton. He drops Dani off at school every day and sometimes hands her some groceries. He is usually dressed up for work in a suit and tie and when he hugs Dani goodbye, the scent of his cologne is usually on her skin for the rest of the day. One time he invites her over for dinner and Jamie wants to, she wants to so bad- but to drag Denny and Mikey with her? She didn’t think that the Claytons would be happy about that, three street kids at their step begging for scraps.</p><p>And Dani knows about her brothers, she had seen them a few times. Denny on the playground and Mikey from when Mrs. Stevens walked him to school to pick them up a few times. Dani coos and awws over him and makes him smile, like she makes her smile, and she doesn’t ask questions or make fun of her. She doesn’t ask why her clothes are hand-me-downs, or tease her for always having a peanut butter sandwich every day and Dani will sit with her after school when Jamie doesn’t want to go home just yet, her little hand in hers.</p><p>After a few months, Jamie allows herself to breath and be a kid. She has sleepovers at Dani’s house. It’s a good-sized house with a playground in the back and a nice sized garden. Mr. Clayton tells her that he’ll show her how to plant seeds in the springtime. She likes being at Dani’s place, she likes Dani’s parents and her moms homecooked meals. Most of all, she likes it because Dani is there, and she becomes a comfort to her.</p><p>However, things change in the fifth grade after a new boy comes to school. Eddie is a strange one, his dark hair is always slicked back like some sort of villain from a comic book and he always wears sweat vests. He always follows Dani, on the playground, in gym class, even in the classroom. Dani thinks he is lonely, maybe he needs a friend. Jamie just thinks that he is weird.</p><p>They are sitting on a bench one fall afternoon, Jamie is laughing at Dani’s annoyed face as she picks leaves from her curly, brown hair and puts a band aid on her scraped up elbow. “I don’t understand why you have to play so rough.” Dani scolds. “The boys won’t take it easy on you because you’re a girl, Dennis should be in trouble for tackling you. There is not tackle football at school.” Dani reminds her.</p><p>“It’s alright, Dani.” Jamie soothes. “He’s my brother, it’s what we do.”</p><p>Dani still frowns. “Still, I don’t like the names he calls you.” She whispers as she puts her mini first aide kit back into her backpack. Yes, Dani carried around a pocket sized first aid kit, along with small packs of tissues. Some kids thought it was odd, but Jamie thought it was cute and completely Dani.</p><p>Jamie sighs, tugging the sleeve of her worn flannel shirt down. “Denny can’t let go of the past and it doesn’t bother me, really.”</p><p>Dani’s eyes are full of concern. “Well maybe you can sleepover tonight, just in case he is still mad?”</p><p>And Jamie agrees, if not to make Dani feel better, but herself too.</p><p>“Hi, Dani.”</p><p>A voice interrupts them, and Jamie rolls her eyes when she realizes who it was, Eddie, freaking Eddie. Dani offers him a kind smile and he goes on. “I was wondering if you would be interested in coming to dinner at my house tonight. My mom absolutely wants to see you again, she said that she loved meeting you at church.”</p><p>Dani looks at Jamie and the back to Eddie. Jamie knew that Dani had a problem telling people no, she once had to physically take down one of the playground bullies so she could take back a Pokemon card that Dani had given away. She straights up though and gives Eddie a sad smile. “I’m sorry,” She tells him. “But Jamie is sleeping over my house tonight, maybe some other time though?” Dani asks and Jamie sighs. She’s too nice.</p><p>Eddie raises a brow and pushes up his round glasses with one finger. “Really, so you like the thought of bed bugs and lice running around your house?”</p><p>“Excuse me?” Jamie bites, but Dani puts a hand on her shoulder, an almost stand down sort of gesture.</p><p>Dani sticks her nose up into the air. “There is no need to be rude, Eddie.” Dani points out. “Jamie is my best friend after all and if you want to be friends with me, you need to be friends with her.”</p><p>Eddie shrugs his shoulders, giving her a whatever before going off with his friends.</p><p>By the end of the month, Eddie kisses Dani and after that the pair officially being to ‘date’ and things change after that.</p><p> </p><p>It’s the summer before eighth grade with Jamie comes to the conclusion that she is gay. She watches all her friend’s fawn and gossip about boys. Their lockers are decked out with pictures of male celebrities and she really doesn’t see the appeal really, it just doesn’t click for her. It’s the pictures in front of a sports illustrated summer edition that she looks at while her and Dani are buying candy at a local convenience store one day in late July. Dani catches her looking, head tilted in curiosity as she follows her gaze and blushes, as red as a tomato when she realizes what Jamie is engrossed it. Dani doesn’t say anything though, doesn’t give her a disgusted look, she just blushes and tries to get her attention back to the task at hand, candy and a slushie to get Mikey to stop crying about the heat.</p><p>Their walking down the sidewalk, eating their candy in silence as Mikey slurps down his frozen treat, wincing at the brain freeze that he ends up getting. “I told you to slow down with that, little man. You need that brain of yours intact.” Mikey laughs at his older sister teasing her back, but she doesn’t pay attention to that, she notices her best friend, looking intently at her soda. “You good, Poppins?” She uses the nickname she had come up with after she sees how amazing Dani is with Mikey and the kids she babysits, still nothing. “Hey, earth to Dani? Are you okay?”</p><p>Dani blinks back into reality and gives an awkward giggle. “I- Uh, yeah, I’m fine. Just distracted, you know- with Eddie being on vacation.”</p><p>Ah there it was, the quick deflect to Eddie. It happened a lot lately, when her parents point out things like Jamie and Dani hanging out a lot, or when the mean girls at school call them some shitty names. She always brings up Eddie, always. Eddie her boyfriend since fifth grade, if she heard it once, she heard it a million times. “He invited you to go with him, you know.” Jamie states and rolls her eyes at her awkward smile.</p><p>“Yeah, but I’d rather spend the summer with you.” She grabs her hand and squeezes it. “You came before him, and you’re my best friend.”</p><p>Jamie doesn’t know if it was the afternoon sun or just those freaking hormones, but her heartrate picks up a bit at the small gesture, especially at Dani’s thumb that drags across the bare skin of her hand. It is Mikey’s whines that pull them from this weird moment. Jamie jerks her hand away from her and Dani swallows hard. Jamie studies her for a moment, because there was no way- “Can we please go to the movies, c’mon Jamie you promised!” Mikey pouts and Jamie ruffles the kid’s hair.</p><p>Yeah, there was no way. Fate never worked in her favor, besides, Dani had Eddie and she would marry him someday. “Sure thing, little man.”</p><p>By eleventh grade, Jamie is a hundred percent sure she is a lesbian and she’s perfectly fine with it. She even gets a girlfriend, well a secret girlfriend. It’s the late 2000s after all and it’s still not fully accepted. Jamie honestly needs the out, her dad took to the bottle more and more, Denny disappeared in the night and never came back and raising Mikey took it out of her. She welcomed the distraction, even more as her best friend drifted farther and farther away.</p><p>However not too far.</p><p>It was autumn again and she and her girlfriend were getting heated on the couch, the horror movie long forgotten, something that was easy to do while someone had you distracted. They are both surprised when the door to Jamie’s apartment flies open and Dani rushes inside, blue eyes red and filled with tears. She sniffles, giving a surprised oh and apologizes when she sees what she interrupted. Her face is now flushed, she is a sobbing mess and Jamie can’t help but to feel bad about it for some odd reason.</p><p>“Oh god, I- I god, I’ll just leave, I’ll go. I’m sorry, I should have knocked.” Dani rambles on and Jamie shakes her head.</p><p>“No, no, it’s all good, Poppins. Ashley was just leaving.” Jamie says as she untangles herself from the other girl.</p><p>Ashley narrows her eyes. “I was?”</p><p>“Yeah, you were.” Jamie confirms and Ashley gives an annoyed sigh as she stands up. “I’ll call you later.”</p><p>Ashley leaves, giving one last huff of annoyance as she closes the door behind her and just like that, flood gates open for Dani and a fresh set of tears are streaming down her face. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to ruin your night, I didn’t-” She hiccups. “-I didn’t know you had someone over and if I knew, I wouldn’t have, but I just needed to.”</p><p>Now it’s Jamie’s turn to be concerned and she pulls Dani into a tight hug and Dani sobs in her shoulder. “It’s fine, Dani. Ashley is a lost cause anyway, have you ever had someone just stick your tongue in your mouth and just let it sit there? Definitely not my cup of tea.”</p><p>Dani lets out a wet laugh, still clinging onto Jamie tightly. She’s still crying, her shirt is soaked through and Jamie rubs her back soothingly. “Do you want to talk about what happened?”</p><p>She feels Dani nod and gives her a few moments. Finally, in a hoarse voice, she speaks. “Dad’s dead.” She sobs. “There was an accident on the Ben Franklin bridge and-” She can’t finish and that’s okay, Jamie doesn’t expect her to. “C-can I stay here, please. I can’t go back home, mom she’s- well and Eddie he doesn’t.”</p><p>Jamie gently takes her shoulders, guiding her away for a moment and meets her eyes. “You should really be with your mom right now, Poppins.” She softly says, but she knows how Barb is. She at least had to put it out there and Eddie? Well he could just go and fuck himself. The guy hated Jamie, said Dani talked about her too much, said that he didn’t like the way she looked at Dani- or the way Dani looked at her. The boy had the audacity to say that Jamie would convert his girlfriend to her perverted ways. So yeah, fuck him. “But you can stay, you’re always welcome here.”</p><p>Dani is a mess of tears, her eyes are swollen, nose is red, but she is still Dani. Wonderful, amazing, smart and beautiful, attractive, Dani. Jamie stops, beautiful, attractive, she can’t think of her best friend like that. Dani had a boyfriend, Dani had fuckin’ Eddie. But there was the way she was looking at her now- no, her dad just died, Mr. Clayton was dead, and she couldn’t think like that. So, Jamie takes a breath and brushes a stray tear off her nose before one of the bedroom doors opens and out pops Mikey’s little face. He rubs his eyes before flashing a ten-watt smile. “Dani!” He exclaims as he comes running out of his room. “Dani, it’s been so long, where have you been-” He pauses. “Why are you crying? Is everything okay?”</p><p>Dani brushes the tears from her eyes. “Yeah, everything is fine, kiddo.” And she hugs him, slender fingers in his soft curls. “I missed you so much.”</p><p>He steps back, looking between the two of them before rocking back on his feet. “Well since I’m up, can we watch a movie? A scary one, for Halloween?”</p><p>Jamie raises a brow and scoffs. “Nice try, kid, but it’s late and you should be sleeping.” His face falls and Dani is looking off in the distance. Maybe some time with a movie would do some good.</p><p>Expect Mikey doesn’t make it through Hocus Pocus. She picks it because it’s lighthearted and it has made them laugh before. However, Mikey falls asleep on both of their laps and she gives up when she feels Dani’s head, heavy on her shoulder. “Hey, Dani.” She whispers and Dani eyes open a smidge. “I’m going to put this guy to bed, grab a pair of sweatpants from my wardrobe and I’ll be in soon.” Dani nods and gets up, smiling slight as Mikey mumbles something in his sleep when Jamie easily lifts him up. “See you in a minute, yeah?”</p><p>Dani knows the path to Jamie’s room. It’s small, but full of house plants. She looks around in amazement at her collection, Dani could remember being small and the two of them planting seeds in her dad’s garden. Jamie took a quick interest and had quite the green thumb, even till this day she was still tending a garden. Dani opens Jamie’s dresser and takes out a clean pair of sweatpants and then notices Jamie’s favorite green flannel shirt she picks it up, feeling the soft, warm fabric in her hands. It smells like Jamie and it’s oddly comforting. Dani hopes Jamie won’t mind her wearing it so she changes out of her jeans and blouse, instantly feeling comfortable in Jamie’s clothes, safe even. Jamie enters soon after, brow raising, but saying nothing about the shirt.</p><p>They lay in bed together, nothing new- they’d done it a million times before. This time it felt different though. She had asked Jamie to hold her through the night which she does and Dani? Well Dani finds the sound of her heartbeat soothing, the smell of her hair, just her in general soothing. It didn’t feel odd or out of place like it did with Eddie, being with Jamie like this felt real and felt right and while deep down, Dani knew why, she couldn’t bring herself to it, not yet anyway.</p><p>Jamie lets Dani keep her most prized shirt and she wears it a lot after her dad’s passing. It’s a safety blanket even when she sleeps over Jamie’s place again the night after the funeral, she wears it. She wears it to bed, around the house and even to school a few times. Eddie is cruel about it when he realizes who the shirt belongs to and follows her, whispering harshly as they argue.</p><p>“You need to take that off, now.” He commands her. “People are going to get the wrong idea.”</p><p>Dani stops, it’s been six months with him like this, she doesn’t want to deal with this shit now. “I’m not going to take if off and I don’t care what people think, neither should you.”</p><p>He reaches out to grab her and Dani pulls away quickly. “They are going to think you’re gay and with her, it’s not a good look for us.”</p><p>“You mean it’s not a good look for you?” Dani hisses. “And honestly, I don’t care if they think I’m a lesbian because maybe-”</p><p>There is fury in his eyes, he takes a step closer, she takes a step back. “Because maybe you are? Fuck, I knew there was something going on between you two, that fucking bitch.” He smooths his hair back and laughs for a moment. “All of those looks, those nights alone- you were fucking, weren’t you?”</p><p>“Eddie-” She tries, but he was on a rampage and it scares her.</p><p>“You know what, we can fix this, there are people out there that can fix you and make this all go away.” He decides, reaching out to her again.</p><p>Dani recoils. “Fix me?” She horrified. “What are you- no you can’t just fix me, I. Christ, Eddie, I haven’t even come to terms with this! Just please, god, please leave me alone. We need, I can’t do this with you anymore.”</p><p>“Can’t do this with me? C’mon Dani, we had plans.” He points out and Dani shakes her head.</p><p>“No, you had plans. Just, leave me alone.”</p><p>She doesn’t go home that night, but Jamie calls her mom to let her know that she’d be staying with her. They are on the couch, Mikey asleep on the floor in front of the tv. Dani tells Jamie all about Eddie, about how he has been treating her, the nasty things he had been saying to her and then she pauses. “I never loved him like that.” She whispers, still slowly coming to terms with her truth, who she was. Jamie stays quiet, allowing her to processes. Jamie had a clue, had an inkling. Dani wasn’t exactly subtle, there had been more close encounters between the two of them lately. A lingering gaze her and there, a touch that lasted a bit longer than it should and just recently a slip up, an almost kiss. Jamie was there though, letting her figure things out by herself and it clicks, she slips closer to Jamie as if she were trying to not scare her off. “It’s never been him.” She decides and they are a breath’s away from each other.</p><p>Jamie knows what’s coming, she’s not naïve, but she stops her as her lips hover over her. “Dani, are you sure?”</p><p>Dani faintly says yes before she kisses her and now, she understands it, what it is like to be with someone who you are supposed to be with. They press themselves closer together, Jamie’s arms wrapped around her waist while Dani’s hand frame her face. She is swept up in everything, the feeling of Jamie against her, her lips, her smell. She’s dizzy and she’s- crying, yes, she’s crying happy tears. They break apart for air, foreheads resting against each other. Dani brushes her nose against hers, a smile on her face when Jamie kisses her tears away. “Who knew, huh?” Jamie sighs and Dani laughs. Yeah, who knew.</p><p>They are careful because people aren’t as accepting as they wished they be. A quick kiss is stolen in the stairwell before a class starts, or in the park where they hold hands. Mikey walking proudly in front of them with a balloon and a popsicle in the summer. Dani snuggles up beside her on a ferris wheel and they lay in the bed of Jamie’s truck, watching fireworks in the summer nights. “Still not sick of me?” Jamie asks her the following autumn, tucked in some blankets around a fire. Dani cups her face, kissing the tip of her nose.</p><p>“Never.”</p><p>When the finally graduate highschool they pursue their careers. Jamie goes to school for publishing and Dani goes for teaching and when same sex marriage is legalized in Pennsylvania, Dani is the one to purpose to Jamie. They get a nice town house in Philly and now walk hand in hand down the street without a second thought from anyone, no more hiding, just pure pride on their love.</p><p>Before their wedding, Dani gets a friend request from Eddie. She shows Jamie, her head is on her shoulder as they look at some of his pictures. “Well, he’s got his perfect family.” Jamie comments. “Our kids though, yeah they will be way more adorable.”</p><p>“Out kids?” Dani asks turning her head slightly.</p><p>Jamie kisses her neck, wrapping her arms around her waist. “Yeah our kids, I know you want ‘em and like I said, our kids are going to be super cute and way awesome. It can be done, my love- science is amazing.”</p><p>They get married in June, a small wedding celebration that goes well on into the night. Their reception is held outside. They have their first dance among lighting bugs surrounded by people who love and cared about them.</p><p>Two years later they welcome their first child in the world a beautiful little boy who looks just like Dani. She is flushed, in a sheet of sweat as he is handed over to her. Jamie laughs when Barb comments how alert he is. Jamie points out that he looks pissed off with a sullen brow. She kisses the top of Dani’s head as she lets their son wrap his little hand around her finger. “Hey Miles.” Dani coos, nuzzling herself into her wife’s embrace.</p><p>Their family goes crazy over Miles. How small he is, how handsome he is. His little chubby cheeks and his Dani’s blue eyes. Jamie sometimes takes him out in the early morning to let Dani sleep. He is in a sling around her shoulder, taking in the world. They pick out flowers for Dani during their quick visit to the food store to pick up breakfast. When they are out as a family people comment about what a handsome couple they are and as Miles begins to walk, they talk about having another one. “This time, it’s your turn" Dani tells Jamie with a quick kiss to the lips as she chases after the toddling little boy.</p><p>Five years pass by and its Mile’s first day of Kindergarten. He holds both their hands as he looks up at the large building. He has never really been away from his moms a half of day at Pre-k is nothing compared to a six-hour day.</p><p>“What if they don’t like me?” Miles asks.</p><p> Jamie sense his fear and bends down to meet his eyes. “It’s alright to be scared, I was terrified on my first day of school.” She tells him as she smooths a hand through his dark hair. “But do you know what made it better for me?”</p><p>“What?”</p><p>“Mommy made it better, so much better.” She tells him. “I was sitting right there when she came up to me, a pink pastel princess who told me she was going to be my best friend- and here we are now. So, I thought the same thing, no one would like me, but I was wrong. You’ll make friends sweetheart; I just know it.”</p><p>She looks up at Dani who gives them both a warm smile.</p><p>“But I want to go with Miles.” Little Flora had been crying since they left the house, she was not happy with the outcome and Dani’s damp shoulder is proof of the almost three-year old’s tantrum. “I’ll be lonely!”</p><p>Dani turns her head, pouting her lip at her daughter. “What do you mean you’ll be lonely? You get to spend the day with Mama. I’m totally jealous.”</p><p>“Mama’s busy with her book- and the flower shop.” Flora points out, burying her face back into Dani’s shoulder and wailing. Both women have to suppress their laughs at their daughter’s dramatics, while some heads turn to look at them.</p><p>“What do you mean busy, I thought you were going to be my number one helper while these two are stuck in boring old school.” Jamie tells Flora who perks her head up, tantrum at bay.</p><p>“Pft yeah, boring old school,” Flora repeats. “Haha, Miles, you are going to be so bored.” She reaches her arms out for Jamie to take her and Dani passes her off and takes Miles’ hand. She kisses Flora’s forehead before giving Jamie a kiss goodbye.</p><p>“And you wanted to go for number three.” Dani teases.</p><p>Jamie rolls her eyes. “It’s still possible, give it till Flora starts preschool.” She winks, “baby fever will hit you like a ton of bricks, and it’s your turn- this time.”</p><p>Dani laughs and leans in for another goodbye kiss. “Yeah, yeah.” She rolls her eyes. “Have a good day you two and stay out of trouble!”</p><p>Jamie and Flora stand back as they watch Dani and Miles climb up the stairs where they first met all of those years ago and Jamie can only hope that their children find the same happiness that they had.</p>
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